


Wands & Water Lilies

by almostkawaii (AlmostNotReallyKawaii)



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Action/Adventure, Angst, Blood purity, Comedy, Conspiracy, Corruption, Dating, Discourse, Enemies to Friends, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Enemies to Lovers, Enemies to Partners to Friends, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Gen, Government Conspiracy, M/M, Muggle/Wizard Relations, Multi, Mystery, Pureblood Culture, Pureblood Politics, Pureblood Society, Racism, Romance, Suspense
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-10
Updated: 2017-03-01
Packaged: 2018-05-31 10:46:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,676
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6467215
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlmostNotReallyKawaii/pseuds/almostkawaii
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Harry has been avoiding Malfoy at work for three years now, and has successfully managed to not have to partner with him on a single case so far. When this finally changes, and Hermione uncovers some secrets about the supposedly "reformed" Ministry, things start to go awry and Harry has no choice but to trust Draco Malfoy as they uncover a conspiracy bigger than them both.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Fool Me Once

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry is bored, and Draco is perfect. How can we flip this around...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please let me know if you guys like this premise! It's going to go a little bit into blood politics and government corruption so please be aware, and leave a comment if you have any suggestions/thoughts! Thankyou for reading <3

"What I don't understand is why you keep giving me these ridiculous cases?" Harry demanded his superior first thing Monday morning. He had spent the entire weekend  _leisurely re-watching the Star Trek movies_ , and was utterly outraged about it.

"W-well you see, Auror Potter-"

"Look, Mason, either you give me a legitimate reason or I'm resigning from the Ministry altogether!" Harry said adamantly before realizing what he had said and looking away in shame. Before Mason could speak, Harry apologized hastily, "I'm sorry, that was out of line. I-I'll continue to work my hardest and hope I get some more challenging cases in the future," he ended with a determined edge in his voice, looking back up directly at his boss. Head Auror Mason, who somehow looked guilty, apalled, and disgruntled all at the same time, nodded curtly before gesturing towards the door distractedly. Harry silently left the Head Auror's office and returned to his workstation, looking dejectedly down at his latest case. In that moment he decided his outburst had been entirely justified. Sighing, he sat down at his chair and looked forlornly at the meeting room, in which four Aurors were standing around a table covered in papers, moving about and charming words to appear on the whiteboard wall. Meanwhile, on his own desk, lay an empty-looking folder with the words "Missing Crup Case" scrawled hastily on the top in black sharpie.

This  _wasn't_  going to be a long week.

* * *

 "Look, I understand if the Ministry still has its reservations about me, I just refuse to acknowledge that this  _shite_  is an acceptable excuse of a case to give to an advanced member of the Auror's organization. If you would like to explain why a Class XXX Missing Magical Creature case that should actually be delegated to some intern in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures is being given to a Rank Nine Auror with no history of misdemeanors within the time the position was held," Malfoy rattled off, utterly  _chagrined_  at the current situation.

He hadn't stepped a single toe out of line, and had in fact carried out his job completely within protocol, completing all required documentation and submitting all reports not only in a timely manner but with extra notes that exceeded expectations and provided minute, detailed observations that proved incredibly useful in later cases. He was utterly sure he would be getting some sort of recognition or award for his work any day now, and suddenly  _this?_   Without doubt, there was absolutely no justifiable explanation as to why he had received not only a case that did not in fact belong to his department, but also one that was far beneath his solving capabilities. In fact, earlier, when he had opened the case file (only to mock the contents), he immediately noticed three inconsistencies that indicated that the suspects were either the groomer who had grown spiteful for not only not receiving any tips from the owner, but also for all the supplies that the poorly-trained crup had destroyed, or the owner herself, attempting to regain the attention of her ex-lover, to whom the crup had initially belonged.

"Now, now, Mr. Malfoy, can you please listen for just a mom-" Mason began, sweating under the stress of having to deal with Potter and Malfoy's wrath in the same morning.

"Sir, I can absolutely assure you that there is no possible reasoning that you can give me that justifies the actions that have been carried out in regards to this case. Unless, of course, the entire Junior Auror division and all the interns in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures have all magically disappeared, every other Auror has already been assigned a case, and this lady is suing the Ministry. Then, of course, I would be happy to begin the search with the  _two suspects I have already managed to narrow the case down to_ ," Malfoy said coolly, indicating the extent to which his deep-seated disappointment ran.

"Well, Auror Malfoy, all I can tell you is that this case was given to me by a higher up. I'm presuming this lady must be affiliated with a senior member of the Wizengamot or the like, or I'm sure it wouldn't have been immediately delegated to the two best Aurors in our team," Mason said his voice wavering slightly.  _God, the man is such an easy mark_ , Draco thought to himself.  _It's clear that a member of the Wizengamot is forcing him to push this case-_ Then Malfoy's thoughts paused abruptly.

"Excuse me, Auror Mason, but did you just say that  _two_  of your  _best_  Aurors, one obviously being myself, were included in this farce of a case, excuse my language?" Malfoy inquired precariously, his voice not quite tinged with disbelief.

"Er, yes, that is what I said. Auror Potter will be joining you-"

"Auror Potter!? Auror Mason, please, sir, I assure you that I am fully capable of completing this case on my own, there is absolutely no need to drag in-"

"Er- hello, Head Auror Mason, did you need me for anything?"

Draco froze. Slowly turning his head around, he saw the one man he had successfully managed to avoid working as partners on a case with for the past four years since leaving Auror training, the one man he was infinitely, begrudgingly indebted to - Harry Potter.


	2. Congratulations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here comes Draco :^)))

Holding the note in his hand, he wondered what else Mason would want from him within the span of two hours that required him to walk down the length of the Auror department all the way to his office. Holding up his hand to knock quietly, Harry hesitated when he heard voices inside. As he opened the door and stepped into the room, he asked Mason what he wanted before he noticed someone else standing in the room.

It was Malfoy.

 _Ah, lovely,_  Harry thought,  _exactly what I needed this morning. A double dose of pathetic,_  he thought before his inner Hermione reprimanded him.  _I suppose that was rather harsh_ , he acceded, then looked a bit more carefully at Malfoy.

The git had become distinctly less pointy-looking, and Harry only just realized that despite working in the same department and knowing so, the two had never had the fortune (or misfortune) of working exclusively with one another. Of course, there had been the department-wide panic three years ago thanks to someone who had managed to tap into their evidence lockers and evidence was going missing every other day (apparently it had been an inside job, and the case was ultimately mysteriously handed off to the Unspeakables), when Harry, Draco, and 13 of the 28 other officers were working on the case together, but that had been the last time Harry and Draco had been in the vicinity of one another in the department. There had also been the occasional sighting of one another at various bars throughout London, but he had never bothered to take a good look at Malfoy while Ron was hanging off his shoulder, absolutely piss drunk far too early in the evening.

Noticing him now, it was as though Malfoy had...grown into his prattishness, so to speak. His face had grown a bit around pointy nose, making it look elegant instead of sharp. His jawline had become extremely well defined, making his his already thin face look almost sunken. His posture was as elegant and pretentious as ever; despite Hermione's constant nagging not to slouch, Harry couldn't help but associate a permanently vertical posture with either Prefect Percy Weasley or his pompous Slytherin ex-rival. Even now, he seemed to be dripping with disdain as he looked at Harry with an expression tinged with irritation and slight contempt.

"Great," Harry muttered quietly before looking up at Mason expectantly. That bastard better have a damn good explanation for why he needed to talk to Harry and Malfoy at the same time.

"Ah, Harry, it's good to see you again. I thought it prudent that you met your partner on your latest case before you went out in the field," Mason said, smiling weakly at the pair.

Harry blinked.

"Did you say partner?" Harry inquired. "With all due respect, sir, it's a  _crup_. I could have managed to locate a missing one all by myself in my fifth year!" Harry continued adamantly.

"Yeah, fifth year sounds about right, since we first learned about them in third year," Malfoy said quietly, "Considering how you constantly seemed to be two years behind on coursework thanks to all your pointless shenanigans."

"Pointless shenanigans? In our third year we happened to have prevented the murder of Sirius Black, an innocent man who-"

"Who died anyways," Malfoy finished coolly, his voice indicating no misgivings about his indelicacy. Harry's mouth snapped shut.

"Sir, I am sorry, but I refuse to work with someone as inconsiderate, petty,  _ungrateful_ -"

"Ungrateful? So you didn't let me burn to death, congratulations on being a decent human being," Malfoy spat out bitterly.

Taking a deep breath, Harry continued, "As I was saying, sir, for the sake of the success of this case as well as the sanity of the Auror department, I highly suggest reassigning Auror Malfoy-"

"Reassign me? Potter, I've already narrowed the case down to two suspects, what have you got?"

"Well, I have a suspect in interrogation room C," Harry replied smugly. Draco fumed silently before replying scathingly.

"I bet you thought it was the crup-walker, didn't you-" Draco began snidely before he was interrupted by an adamant Harry.

"Some of the evidence clearly indicates that if the crup were to go missing, she would serve to gain if she was the one who found it," Harry explained quickly and insistently, not allowing Draco to get a word in edgewise until he bit the words out. 

Not that it mattered, as Draco sighed melodramatically and rolled his eyes before sneering at Harry condescendingly. 

"There's altogether too many if's in that presumption, Potter. If you knew anything about casework, you would know that the crime is most likely performed by the individuals who either have the most to lose or the most to gain. 

"Clearly, whatever miniscule amount of pride or pay raise the crup-walker may have gotten is nothing compared to the loss that the groomer incurred every time Miss Maria Jameson brought her crup to his establishment, considering the sheer amount of products that the crup destroyed. 

"Otherwise, consider the owner herself, whose lover recently moved out and left her crup behind – 'accidentally,' as it says in the testimonial – leaving her with nothing to lose if she 'loses' the crup, seeing as either her lover would be forces to come back and atleast speak with her in search for the missing crup, or she would stop having to care for someone else's pet altogether. Furthermore, by submitting this case to the Ministry, she has the potential to gain publicity, especially since the Auror department seems to be rather dried out of too many good cases at the moment," Draco stated matter-of-factly, ending his statement with a pointed jibe at Mason, who was too stunned by the discourse to notice. "I guarantee you, Potter, the crup-walker had absolutely nothing to do with it."

Briefly opening and closing his mouth like a fish, Potter pulled out a scrap of paper from his pocket, charmed a message onto it, and sent it out the door with a swish of his wand. Disgruntled, he shoved his hands in this pocket and looked up at Mason. "So, sir, will you be needing me for anything else?" he said sheepishly, irritated that not only did Mason or whoever his boss was not trust him enough to give him real cases, but also Malfoy was able to solve them much more efficiently than him. Feeling useless, he waited for Mason to shake his head before shuffling out of the office and shutting the door behind him. Dejectedly walking down to his workstation, he plopped down on his chair and exhaled pathetically. _Who was I calling pathetic ten minutes ago? It should have been me_ , he thought, before, once again, his inner Hermione spoke up.

 _Serves you right,_  she would have said, and he couldn't disagree.


	3. Told You So

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Suddenly, government conspiracies!!! The concept of blood purity being called out as a potential hack?? Also what the heck is Hermione's job???

"Well, I mean considering the way you treated him it kind of-"

"Serves me right. What? That's what you were going to say, right?" Harry interrupted childishly, arms crossed over his chest. He had come over to Ron and Hermione’s after work today, and was currently seated at the dining table across from Hermione, and he was definitely Not Pouting.

"Well, er, yes," replied Hermione sheepishly before continuing, "But that isn't the point. The point is that something is going on with the bureaucracy at the Ministry and I am going to find out what," she announced, her voice filled with determination.

"Wait, how did you get that idea from me complaining to you about having to work with Malfoy on a dumb case?" Harry was baffled by the leaps and bounds with which Hermione thought, but then again, it wasn't like this was her first time jumping to conclusions - or actions - like this.

Her success in her former position as leader of the active organization S.P.E.W. (leadership had been passed on when Hermione took on a job with higher responsibilities at the Ministry - the change had been recent; Harry wasn't quite sure exactly where she worked now) was just a testament to her dedication to a cause once the idea unfurled in her infinitely large brain. At least she didn't have to worry about leaving her organization in good hands; Luna Lovegood, who had now become a famous researcher and speaker on sentient magical creatures, had recently taken up the post with enthusiasm and gusto.

With a thoughtful look on her face, Hermione hesitated. “Er…don’t you think it’s kind of strange that the wizarding community is so separated from the muggle community? I mean, considering how many supposed half-bloods and muggleborns there are, it doesn’t make any sense. Wouldn’t their parents be proud of them and want to share their child’s skills with close family and friends? At the very least, shouldn't they have the right to? But how many muggles is too many? And who in the Ministry decides who gets obliviated or not anyways? ”

“Whoa, slow down there. Isn’t there that statute thing that explains that?”

“The International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy, yes, but don’t you see? The Statue is incredibly vague in consideration to who exactly can and cannot know about the wizarding community. What if they obliviated some wizard, then wouldn’t that wizard forget about their magic, and be shocked when their kid gets a Hogwarts letter? Maybe muggleborns aren't exactly "Muggleborn," per se, but there's very little evidence to back this theory."

But then how do you sound so sure?"

"Look, it's statistically impossible to keep bloodlines as ‘pure’ as they claim to be. There are perks to knowing "Muggle" things like math, science, and statistics. It’s obvious that even powerful families like the Malfoys and the Blacks aren’t completely pure. And the Ministry has complete power to obliviate whoever they want, whenever they want. Don’t you think they could be using that to keep the wizarding community smaller and more ‘pureblooded’?” Hermione pressed, and Harry’s eyebrows shot up. If what Hermione was saying was true, then whenever the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes sent out their Obliviators, those individuals had the power to completely rewrite people’s identities and, in turn, rewrite history. 

"This, of course, means that history _and_ blood purity can be sold or bought by effevtively anyone in the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes, Obliviator or not," Hermione concluded.

“So….what? What does this mean? Are the Obliviators all corrupt or something then?” Harry asked, a note of skepticism in his voice.

“I think that could definitely be part of it, but I think the root lies somewhere deeper, maybe even in the Wizengamot. I mean, it takes a legacy of prejudice and self-righteousness for this grandiose of a scheme to even hold up and affect a community of people for so long. I'll have to do some digging," Hermione replied, her eyebrows scrunched up in thought.

“But surely the Department has someone keeping track of them, keeping them in line to prevent this kind of thing from happening, right?” Harry retorted, thinking that surely someone must have thought of this before.

“That’s what I’m researching at my new job,” Hermione replied, her eyebrows still scrunched, when suddenly she froze, looking stricken. Then, all of a sudden, as though nothing had happened, she resumed cooking, a rather empty expression on her face. “Anyways, we all know that most governments have branches that are corrupt, so I’m sure someone other than me will notice this soon if it's important and deal with it then,” she brushed aside the subject a little too nonchalantly.

“If you’re researching this stuff for your job, then which department in the Ministry are you working for whose jurisdiction covers-” Harry began when Hermione suddenly got up and walked to the fridge, opening it up and peering inside.

“I just remembered, it’s my turn to cook today – do you think Ron would like soup or pasta for dinner?” she asked abruptly.

"Um," Harry said, feeling a little blindsided by the abrupt change in topic. "Er, honestly? Both," he replied, giving Hermione a look which she returned with a grin before clattering away in the kitchen with pots and pans and pasta. Harry moved behind her to grab some plates and bowls to set the table when Hermione started talking again.

"Anyways, let’s talk about you. So Malfoy is your Auror partner for now, huh? Haven't you been essentially avoiding him for your entire career so far?" Hermione said with a lilt in her voice.

Before Harry could answer, a loud voice was heard from the hallway. "Harry has a new partner that he's avoiding? Can't say I'm exactly shocked. Is it a boyfriend or a girlfriend this time?” Ron joked, shrugging his coat off his shoulders, before walking into the kitchen and depositing his coat on the counter. Turning around and leaning his elbows on the counter, Ron raised an eyebrow at Harry. "So, who's the unlucky dreamboat?"

"It's not a- It's not- Ugh, it's Malfoy," Harry replied, frustrated, and Ron's eyes widened comically before he cracked a lopsided grin and exclaimed, "You're joking!" before laughing so hard he had to sit down, clutching the table for support. “You – dating? Malfoy?” Ron choked out between his laughs, growing red in the face.

“Malfoy is his new partner at work,” Hermione clarified, smiling at an increasingy irritated Harry.

"It's not that funny, you know," Harry muttered, unnerved, “What’s worse is our case. We have the grand honor of locating a missing crup!” At this, Ron started laughing all over again, and even Hermione joined in with a few giggles.

"It is kind of hilarious if you think about it," Hermione said between stirs of the pot full of warm, bubbling sauce.

"Yeah, I mean, I remember every time I've ever seen Malfoy being assigned a new case, you were literally in another part of the Ministry because you were so bloody terrified of even potentially being partnered with him," Ron said as his laughter died down. He sat down on the kitchen chair and waved his wand; his shoelaces began undoing themselves. "I can't believe you've managed to not only work with him but also get assigned to the easiest case the department's had all year!" His statement was punctuated by the thump of his shoes as they floated over and landed on the shoe rack. 

"Hey, I haven't been avoiding him or anything, I just sort of happened to get called down to update my ID with the new standard charms that time – and the other times too, they were all coincidences, I swear! In fact I- I only just noticed today that I'd never gotten to work with the git," Harry insisted, but everyone noticed the slight flush that had risen from his neck. "At least it's only for – wait a second, how did you know that our case is 'easy'?" Harry asked suspiciously, turning towards Ron.

"Harry, it's been buzzing around the office all day. A lot of people notice when...Well, I guess you wouldn't have noticed since you weren't here all day, but let's just say that Hermione and I aren't the only ones who have noticed you avoiding Malfoy all these years. And now that you guys are partners, well..." his voice trailed off when he caught Hermione's eye, and she shook her head sharply at him.

"Now that we’re partners, what? Hermione, don't stop him. I can handle it," Harry said adamantly, looking between the pair expectantly. Ron shrugged at his wife then continued.

“Everyone's kinda wondering where this is going to go-”

“We’re going to solve this case and never talk again. That’s how it’s going to go,” Harry replied matter-of-factly, clearly embittered by his situation.

“Harry, Seamus snuck by Malfoy's office like twelve times today just to try to figure out what was going on, and he said that Malfoy's face looked all scrunched up like this,” – he demonstrated such a grotesque face that Harry was vividly Aunt Marge’s dog –  “as though someone had stuck a fresh pile of shite in front of him – and he apparently looked like that all day!" Ron exclaimed. “I get the feeling you two might be on this case for a while.”

“Look it’s an easy case, if I were working on it we’d be done already. Eurgh. And, to be honest, if I was stuck at the office having to work on that case all day, I would have looked like that too," Harry replied, rolling his eyes.

"That bad, huh?" Hermione asked sympathetically as she placed a tray of warm garlic bread on the table, and Harry nodded defeatedly. Ron grabbed a piece of the garlic bread and shoved half of it into his mouth before continuing.

"Sucks, mate," he said, still chewing, which made the words seemed insincere. "Anyways, everyone in the office has different thoughts about what's going to happen. Like, if you guys are gonna have a huge fight, or if you'll actually become friends or what. I think Smith's taking bets for if you guys become best mates or something ridiculous like that..." Ron's voice trailed off again as he noticed Harry's look of alarm and hastily backtracked. "I mean, you two have never really worked well in the past but since you're older and fairly competent Aurors…I'm just saying that maybe some good can come of this yet." Ron explained fairly rationally, looking Harry in the eye.

Harry was about to argue vehemently, insisting on the negative, when he realized that Ron was probably right. His smile lopsided and sheepish, Harry murmured a begrudging, "I suppose so," before getting up to help Hermione with bringing the dishes over. Ron got up too and stood there for a second before realizing that Harry and Hermione had pretty much everything taken care of, then sat back down and sighed rather dramatically - even for him.

"What's up with you?" asked Harry curiously, if not a bit enviously, as he set down the tray of pasta. Ron's life as an Auror would probably forever be more interesting than Harry's if things kept going the way they were.

"Oh, it's nothing much…" Ron began before looking at Harry warily. "It's, er, it's the case I've been working on. It's kind of, well, high profile, which means we have to keep it low profile," he said with emphasis, raising his eyebrows for extra effect.

"Are you allowed to talk about it outside of work?" Hermione asked immediately, her instincts sharp enough to hire her as an Auror, were she not otherwise enamoured with her current job as... _Speaking of which, I should probably ask her what she does now_ , Harry thought briefly before returning his attention to the conversation.

"...don't have to worry about it, it's already going to hit the newspapers. People will just think that he hired a private detective or something given his status instead of relying on some Aurors. Then again, giving the case to us means that it doesn't leave the Ministry, so he might just be making a safety-conscious decision," Ron explained, looking from Hermione's thoughtful expression to Harry's slightly bewildered one.

"Sorry, who was this again?" Harry asked hastily before the conversation moved on without him again.

"It's Uric Barnes," Hermione replied quickly, appearing lost in thought. "And you said this should be hitting the papers soon?"

"Yeah, so there's nothing to worry about. It's a simple robbery case and there's no harm in discussing it with you two," Ron replied.

"But he should have plenty of money for security; it seems highly unlikely that anyone would be able to break through his wards," she pointed out skeptically.

"That's what makes the case so mysterious - during the time frame that the crime occurred, the wards weren't up, and the last magical signature on them was the morning of, indicating that Barnes has put them up in the morning before leaving for the Ministry."

"So did you guys figure out what happened?" Hermione pressed, her eyebrows furrowed.

"We have a few strong leads so one of them should pan out within the next day or two," Ron replied contentedly before digging into his pasta once more.

"Wait, Uric Barnes... Isn't he that one guy on the Wizengamot who oversees war criminal trials?" Harry interrupted as the information just clicked for him.

There was a beat before Hermione replied, "He is," her tone foreboding as she continued.

"And he's one of the few who was in favor of throwing Malfoy in jail."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> please leave a comment if u have any questions or anything and then prepare urself for a Draco Malfoy Bitchfest (in which Everyone Complains About Draco Malfoy) next chapter


	4. Curiouser and Curiouser

There was a beat of silence, then-

"Not going to lie, I reckon a few years in Azkaban would've straightened out that poncy little git," Ron muttered vehemently, completely oblivious to the tone of the conversation and earning himself a reproachful slap on the hand from Hermione.

"Ron!” Hermione reprimanded, “There's no need to be an asshole. You know nobody deserves that kind of treatment - especially not a teenager who was essentially in the wrong place at the wrong time," Hermione frowned, looking unimpressed at Ron's childish bitterness.

"You know, I don't completely disagree with Ron," Harry said, thinking back on the events of the day. "He's not exactly the nicest auror now, you know. And we were all children then too. Doesn't mean we're still immature and prone to petty arguments."

At that, Hermione gave him a skeptical _look_ and rolled her eyes, muttering, “Clearly,” under her breath.

"Just because he isn't very nice doesn't mean he should be thrown into Azkaban for actions that he was pressured to perform under a warring state with the threat of his family's life on his head!" Hermione exclaimed, her voice growing more taken aback with every word. "And Harry, you  _testified_  for him! What, would you take it back now because he's a little  _bitter?_ "

"No! I wouldn't take my testimony back, it's just-" Harry replied defensively, "He hasn't exactly gotten much better, you know? I thought being given a second chance would help him be a better person, but now he's just a bigger, badder version of who he used to be at Hogwarts."

"Harry, he's literally hunted down and destroyed Dark Wizard groups for the majority of his time since the Battle at Hogwarts, and you're saying that he's not a better person?"

"Look, Hermione, you don't have to work with him every day. Just because he works for the Ministry now and has captured a few dark wizards doesn't mean he's an upstanding citizen," Harry responded wearily. "Look, all I'm saying is that he could stand to be a bit kinder and more respectful to someone he's supposed to be working with," Harry finished, gesturing towards himself.

"Well, think about his situation," Ron butted in, "He  _has_  been a right prat to you since the day you met and you  _still_  saved his life and now he owes you his life. I'd be pretty pissed about that too if I were him, I suppose. Eh, still doesn't warrant him being an asshole." Hermione looked at Ron in surprise. Considering his statement earlier, it almost seemed as though he was being a rational person for a moment.

Harry, also impressed with Ron's statement, took it in for a moment before replying, "Yeah, I mean, his mum saved my life too. You don't see me acting like a dick about it all the time," Harry began, but changed his train of thought when he noticed Hermione raise a skeptical eyebrow and open her mouth to retort. Plowing on, he claimed, "Anyways he also said he didn't recognize us at the Manor either. He's not exactly a saint but he's not completely horrible either. I get that. He could just be a little bit less of a complete jerk at the office."

To this the other two conceded and Ron got up to clean up the kitchen. Hermione got up and helped for a while as Harry moved to the living room to quickly floo Teddy. After a quick thank you from Hermione and a kiss on the cheek, Ron was appeased and Hermione escape to join Harry in the living room, where she leaned towards him conspiratorially.

"Hey, can we talk? You know, without-" Hermione whispered, tilting her head towards the kitchen. Harry realized that Ron would be completely out of earshot.

"What?" Harry asked suspiciously once they had sat down on the sofa, his voice slightly hushed and his eyes questioning. Hermione's hands were in her lap, fingers twiddling nervously.

"Harry, I know I defended Malfoy out there just now, and I still stand by that regarding him as a person but..." Hermione's voice trailed off before she looked up at Harry, her eyes guilty. "I would just advise you to keep your eye out, okay?"

"Wh-what?" Harry spluttered bemusedly. "But you just – what happened to 'he caught a bunch of bad guys' and 'he's not accountable for what he did as a teenager' huh?"

"I never said that he's not accountable for it, just that he was not the only power determining his own actions. Anyways, the department that I'm working for at the Ministry is doing some research into, er, some things, and any information about anything suspicious would be incredibly helpful."

"You expect me to just- what, spy on my partner? He's like, one of the best Aurors, he'll figure me out in a day! What department do you work for anyways?"

"It's- I can't really talk about it, and that's not the point. I get it if you can't do it, but it would seriously help us out in the department if the individual was monitored closely," Hermione said, sounding slightly more desperate.

"You can't talk about it? You can't talk about your department?" Harry asked skeptically, frowning at his friend. "What, are you an Unspeakable now or something?" At this Hermione’s jaw locked as her teeth gritted slightly. Since he knew her so well, Harry could tell immediately that the teeth-clenching and the nonverbal answer were telltale signs of Hermione lying. "Look, I know you're lying. And if you're gonna continue to claim you're not, I'm pretty sure Unspeakables have the power to order someone to keep a record or a tab on a person of interest to them, so if you were to order me to observe, as an Unspeakable, I'd be unable to refuse. Just saying."

Exasperated, Hermione exhaled and acquiesced. "Okay, fine, I'm an Unspeakable. For obvious reasons, you can't be telling people about it, especially since we're going to be using my previous career as an activist as a front for an investigation that I cannot talk about. I just need you to keep an eye on Malfoy, and especially on how he handles the latest case you've been given."

"What, the dog- I mean, the crup case?" Harry replied, his voice dripping with doubt. "It's practically solved, and Malfoy wanted to take over on it anyways. He sent my suspects home without an interrogation. Claimed he figured out the whole thing already," Harry continued, his lips drooping ruefully.

"Wait, Malfoy wants to take the primary on this case?" Hermione sat up, peering closely at Harry. It was kind of unnerving.

"Yeah, that's what I just said. It's not that hard of a case though. I don't know why we both were assigned to it, but if he wants to do the work I'd be more than happy to let him."

"Hmm, that seems rather odd. By any chance, do you know if Uric Barnes is related to the woman who filed the case? And if Malfoy has any connection with him or any of the suspects?"

"Hermione, I've literally had the case for a day. Ugh, now you've got me calling it a "case" when it's literally just a missing crup. Why do we even need suspects? I'm sure we'll find it in a few days, I bet it just ran off," Harry replied, running a hand through his hair exasperatedly. He was exhausted talking about the case, and he wasn't even on duty. He filed away a mental note to check on any relationship between Miss Jameson and the Uric Barnes person Hermione had mentioned - just as a precaution.

Sobering, Hermione leaned back and muttered, "Of course, yeah," distractedly, deciding not the press the point.

"Anyways, fine, I'll keep an eye on him, but his behavior has been legally perfect for years now. I can't exactly arrest him for being a prat," he said bitterly.

"I know, but I appreciate the help," Hermione said, smiling kindly, but that incisive glint never left her eye for the rest of the evening.


End file.
